2006 D&T Excellence Awards

The presentation took place in London with a dinner at Royal Society. The guest speaker was Sebastian Conran, Director of Conran & Partners, who outlined how his experience of school and subsequent training helped him become a designer.

The Awards celebrate those across all areas of D&T who have contributed to the subject and supported learning.

Category 1:
Outstanding Contribution to Design and Technology Education

This is the highest professional award made by the Design and Technology Association. The persons being nominated can come from any part of the subject area, including schools, advisory, lecturing, teaching, research, curriculum development, management and administration to industry and suppliers. To be given this award, a person will need to have given service over a long period of time and made an outstanding contribution, showing commitment and leadership.

Category 2:
Subject Teacher Training Design and Technology

This award is for lecturers, advisors, inspectors, consultants or teachers for their service to training teachers. The category covers both in-service and initial teacher training. This award will be for high quality work in this field over a significant period of time that has helped teachers' understanding and given confidence to teachers over a significant period of time.

(l-r): Rose Sinclair, Goldsmiths College; Keith Kinder, Gloucestershire Initial Teacher Education Partnership; Christine Cannon, Lancashire Professional Development Service; Tony Lord, Lord Williams's School

Category 3:
Subject Leadership Design and Technology

This is award is for subject leadership in school. It covers all phases, awards those who have made a significant contribution over a period of time in developing design and technology in their school and have established high standards of performance from pupils in their care. Those obtaining this award will need to have displayed outstanding management skills and be excellent at promoting the subject in school and the local area.

(l-r): Ian Tindsley, Priory Sports & Technology College; Annette Hadfield, St Ursula's Convent School; Sue Fannon, Whitechapel Primary School

Category 4:
Outstanding Teacher Design and Technology

This award is granted to teachers who have displayed outstanding capability in teaching design and technology over a period of time. They may be a Coordinator or Head of Department, or those not holding such positions but consistently displaying outstanding practice in teaching design and technology. This will not only include teaching in timetabled lessons, but also those who have displayed high quality extra-curriculum activities.

(l-r): Martin Clarke, St Clement Danes School; Heather Wither, Mayfield School; Chris Canavan, Repton Preparatory School

Category 4a:
The IED Design and Technology Award for Post-16 Teaching

The Institute of Engineering Designers, the professional body for Engineering and Product Designers, sponsors this new award for 2006. This award is for an outstanding contribution to design and technology education in the Post-16 sector. This award is granted to those with consistently outstanding capability over a period of time. This may include extra-curricular activities as well as timetabled lessons.

(l-r): Chris Dowlen, IED; Steve Rose, Ralph Allen School; Stuart Douglas, Ripley St Thomas CE High School; Tim Weston, Oakham School

Category 5:
Outstanding Newcomer to Design and Technology

This award is granted to students nearing the completion of their training or to teachers in their first two years of teaching. They will need to have shown outstanding ability in their training and display the capacity to be an outstanding teacher.

(l-r): Louis Rodgers, Dormston School; Hannah Ryan, Lentrise Combined School; Deborah Hayward, The Castle School; Alison Wood; Thomas Telford School

Category 6:
Exceptional Support for Design and Technology

This award is for a classroom assistant, teaching assistant or technician, whose support for the subject has been exceptional. Generally, the support will have been given consistently over a period of time and made a significant impact on pupils' learning, either directly through classroom/workshop support or through support to teaching staff.

(l-r): Keith Clegg, Walsall Academy; Graham Collard, St Paul's School; Julie Beaven, Highams Park School; Elaine Collins, Lodge Primary School

The Dyson Design and Technology Teacher of the Year
Gavin Bowyer, Biddulph High School

Julia Curry, James Dyson Foundation Manager, presents Gavin Bowyer with the Dyson Design and Technology Teacher of the Year Award